CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. – The Fighting Illini men's tennis team split a doubleheader in Charlottesville, Va. on Tuesday. Illinois swept William & Mary, 4-0 to begin the day, but fell to the No. 1-ranked Virginia Cavaliers, 6-1. Illinois is now 5-3 overall this season.

The Illini started the day at Boar's Head Sports Club by grabbing the doubles point against William & Mary. Juniors Aron Hiltzik and Aleks Vukic defeated the Tribe's Newman and Talcott, 6-2 on court one. Redshirt-senior Alex Jesse and freshman Aleks Kovacevic clinched the point for Illinois on court two, 6-3.

In singles play, Kovacevic was first off the court with a 6-3, 6-3 over Alec Miller on court four. Freshman Vuk Budic picked up his first singles dual match victory on Tuesday, 6-2, 6-2 on court six. Fellow freshman Gui Gomes clinched the match victory for Illinois on court two with a 6-3, 7-5 win over Christian Cargill.

The No. 1-ranked Virginia awaited the Illini next. A hard fought doubles point went to Virginia. No. 55-ranked Corintelli and Sonderlund defeated Hiltzik and Vukic, 6-2 on court one. On court three, Altamirano and Aragone clinched the point for the Cavaliers with a 7-6(2) win over Clark and Gomes.

Singles action saw the Cavaliers push the advantage to 2-0 with Kwiatkowski's 6-3, 6-0 win over Hiltzik on court two. No. 64-ranked JC Aragone defeated redshirt-senior Julian Childers on court four, 6-1, 6-4. Virginia  clinched the match on court six with Wiersholm's 6-4, 6-0 win over Clark.

As singles play continued, recently named Big Ten Player of the Week, Vukic earned the Illini's lone singles victory on court one. The junior defeated Altamirano, 7-6, 6-3 on court one.

Up next, the Illini will host a doubleheader at Atkins Tennis Center on Friday, Feb. 24. The Illini will begin with a 12:30 p.m. contest against Northern Illinois before taking on the Kentucky Wildcats at 6 p.m.

Head Coach Brad Dancer's Thoughts

"Virginia is a great team. They have loads of talent and are well coached. I'm a bit disappointed in the overall package in today's match. We always talk about culture and the process of improving and progress. I felt we took a small step back in defining ourselves. I'm recognizing preparation errors on my part and there is no excuse for that. I need to be better as a coach.  We have great players and we have to grow."

Final Results

#1 Virginia 6, #17 Illinois 1

Doubles-Order of Finish: 1, 3*

1. #55 Corintelli/Soderlund (Virginia) def. Hiltzik/Vukic (Illinois) 6-2
2. Jesse/Kovacevic (Illinois) vs. Kwiatkowski/Ritschard (Virginia) 6-6, unf.
3. Altamirano/Aragone (Virginia) def. Clark/Gomes (Illinois) 7-6(2)

Singles-Order of Finish: 2, 4, 6*, 5, 1, 3

1. #31 Aleks Vukic (Illinois) def. Collin Altamirano (Virginia) 7-6, 6-3
2. #28 Thai-Son Kwiatkowski (Virginia) def. #21 Aron Hiltzik (Illinois) 6-3, 6-0
3. Carl Soderlund (Virginia) def. Gui Gomes (Illinois) 7-6(5), 5-7, 1-0(9)
4. #64 JC Aragone (Virginia) def. Julian Childers (Illinois) 6-1, 6-4
5. Alexander Ritschard (Virginia) def. #123 Aleks Kovacevic (Illinois) 7-6, 6-3
6. Henrik Wiersholm (Virginia) def. Zeke Clark (Illinois) 6-4, 6-0

Final Results

#17 Illinois 4, William & Mary 0

Doubles-Order of Finish: 1, 2*

1.  Vukic /Hiltzik (Illinois) def. Newman/Talcott (W&M) 6-2
2. Kovacevic/Jesse (Illinois) def. Appleby/Bautil (W&M) 6-3
3. Cargill/Miller (W&M) vs. Gomes/Clark (Illinois) 5-4, unf.

Singles-Order of Finish: 4, 6, 2*

1.  Aidan Talcott (W&M) vs. #21 Aron Hiltzik (Illinois) 7-5, 2-4, unf.
2.  Gui Gomes (Illinois) def. Christian Cargill (W&M) 6-3, 7-5
3. Addison Appleby (W&M) vs. Noe Khlif (Illinois) 6-3, 2-6, 2-2, unf.
4. #123 Aleks Kovacevic (Illinois) def. Alec Miller (W&M) 6-3, 6-3
5. Damon Niquet (W&M) vs. Zeke Clark (Illinois) 6-4, 5-4, unf.
6. Vuk Budic (Illinois) def. Tristan Bautil (W&M) 6-2, 6-2

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